Register | Login | |||||
Main
| Memberlist
| Active users
| ACS
| Commons
| Calendar
| Online users Ranks | FAQ | Color Chart | Photo album | IRC Chat |
| |
0 user currently in World Affairs / Debate. |
Acmlm's Board - I2 Archive - World Affairs / Debate - Ethics: Does the End Justify the Means? | | | |
Add to favorites | "RSS" Feed | Next newer thread | Next older thread |
Ethics: Does the End Justify the Means?You can | Yes |
12.5%, 1 vote | No |
87.5%, 7 votes | Multi-voting is disabled.
| |
User | Post | ||
BookReader Ninji Level: 25 Posts: 197/232 EXP: 86317 For next: 3303 Since: 03-15-04 From: Albuquerque, New Mexico (Land of Disenchantment) Since last post: 22 days Last activity: 2 days |
| ||
Ethics: Does the End Justify the Means? Right, so, generally I |
|||
alte Hexe Star Mario I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night Alive as you and me "But Joe you're ten years dead!" "I never died" said he "I never died!" said he Level: 99 Posts: 2616/5458 EXP: 9854489 For next: 145511 Since: 03-15-04 From: ... Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
| ||
Example A: Marijuana causes people to become intoxicated. Solution: Prohibit substance Consequence: Black market is created Problem: Shut down black market Solution: "War on Drugs" Consequence: Thousands of lost lives Therefore: End is not justified by the means Example B: US Handhold on South/Latin America weakening Solution: Implace dictator in Chile, arm nation Consequence: Pinochet is put into power Problem: Pinochet is brutal dictator Solution: Move away from Chile Consequence: New dictators are implaced (Noriega, etc.) and South/Latin America further deteriorates Therefore: The loss of life outweighs all benefits. End is not justified by means Those are just two good examples. |
|||
Steak Zora Level: 35 Posts: 350/507 EXP: 278751 For next: 1185 Since: 03-16-04 From: Ohio University Since last post: 195 days Last activity: 195 days |
| ||
The means justify the means. How one goes about a problem is ultimately more important than the goal in mind. | |||
Silvershield Slime Level: 30 Posts: 322/345 EXP: 153029 For next: 12840 Since: 04-11-04 From: New Jersey Since last post: 60 days Last activity: 6 hours |
| ||
The question is quite easy to oversimplify, so I'd approach it with caution. In a general sense, it is fair enough to say that the end should not justify the means; however, in practice, such encompassing logic cannot be used. Certainly there is some end that must be achieved, regardless of the means required. In your example, BookReader, planting a bomb is definitely justifiable if it takes fewer lives than the other option would. However, that assumes that no third path is available. Hopefully, there is another means through which the end can be accomplished, making the complete preservation of life an ideal outcome. (edited by Silvershield on 01-26-05 12:09 AM) |
|||
MathOnNapkins Math n' Hacks Level: 67 Posts: 1325/2189 EXP: 2495887 For next: 96985 Since: 03-18-04 From: Base Tourian Since last post: 1 hour Last activity: 32 min. |
| ||
I dunno, I don't really like to argue questions like this. B/c if the means is diametrically opposed to the end, how can it be justifiable? You can still do things without a proper justification. If you had to kill 1000 innocent people to stop a nuclear disaster that would kill many times more people, you would still do it, right? But I'm sure you wouldn't feel great about it. And you'd have some splaining to do. And you'd definitely question if there was an easier way... | |||
Apple Kodondo Level: 38 Posts: 575/594 EXP: 350163 For next: 20284 Since: 03-27-04 From: Washington. Since last post: 264 days Last activity: 152 days |
| ||
Bombing the airport... 500 or people die instead of 3000 Less property damage Would of been better? Yeah, it seems like it but the negative respones that the goverment would of received has the possible to end up alot worse than a few thousand lives lost. They could blame it on terrorists but it wouldn't really stop them from trying it again somewhere else before the goverment can try and inplace all the sercuity systems. You could issue a grounding of all planes and stop the hijackings before they started, prevented the explosion and loss of innocent lives. Would of been alot better looking as well. If the planes did manage to take off. Shoot them down with jet fighters. But to answer the question. The end very rarely justify the means. |
|||
Kitten Yiffer Purple wand Furry moderator Vivent l'exp����¯�¿�½������©rience de signalisation d'amusement, ou bien ! Level: 135 Posts: 7410/11162 EXP: 28824106 For next: 510899 Since: 03-15-04 From: Sweden Since last post: 3 hours Last activity: 4 min. |
| ||
I'm taking this a step furter but... there is a chanche that someone set off that bomb. Such as an terrorist. Killing alot of lives for no reason at all. And stuff like this is just... I wouldn't it justifty. |
|||
Grey the Stampede Don't mess with powers you don't understand. And yes. That means donuts. Level: 82 Posts: 1624/3770 EXP: 5192909 For next: 16318 Since: 06-17-04 From: Kingston, RI, USA, Earth Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 1 hour |
| ||
I'm ruthless enough to believe in Silvershield's idea, as many ends DO justify their means. However, I also agree with his logic that an end and a means are far too narrow-minded of a choice to be made. More often than not, there is a third, and indeed a fourth and fifth choice, which lead to means that really don't require justification. | |||
alte Hexe Star Mario I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night Alive as you and me "But Joe you're ten years dead!" "I never died" said he "I never died!" said he Level: 99 Posts: 2665/5458 EXP: 9854489 For next: 145511 Since: 03-15-04 From: ... Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
| ||
Everything has a justification, as justification is completely subjective. Mind you, to me, I can find justification for attacks on US military interests. On the other hand some neocon (just stating random political viewpoint) may find it completely justified to kill the 4 year old son of a terrorist leader to get across a "point". | |||
Dracoon Zelda The temp ban/forum ban bypasser! Level: 84 Posts: 2368/3727 EXP: 5514391 For next: 147561 Since: 03-25-04 From: At home Since last post: 5 hours Last activity: 5 hours |
| ||
No... No end can justifie a mean. There is always another way, or better yet, the truth. Talking about drugs, you only tell the absolute truth, if you don't people will be less likely to trust you in the future. Now as for putting a bomb in an airplane terminal, why did no one think of just having the pilots armed? They come breaking in with a knife and get shot. No real damage will be done to the plane, yes I know this for a fact, and everything would be a lot better. To hijack the plane you have to first take the pilots, so you have several means to stop it from happening. Just make it so the doors are locked from the inside, there is a camera that watches, and I'm sure if I was inventive enough I could just keep on going. Really, there is always another way, and as another way exists the ends can never justifie the means. If there was only one way, and that one way only, then maybe... just maybe... |
Add to favorites | "RSS" Feed | Next newer thread | Next older thread |
Acmlm's Board - I2 Archive - World Affairs / Debate - Ethics: Does the End Justify the Means? | | | |